Garcia has signed a two-year deal worth €1 million and has been promised that the team will be strengthened ahead of the Champions League campaign.

Bringing back Garcia, 41, a former Barcelona player and youth team manager, is seen as a major coup by Maccabi. He led Brighton to the Championship playoffs, only to resign after the defeat against Derby, and was strongly in contention for the vacancies at Southampton, WBA, and Celtic.

Garcia's first task will be to persuade the club's top-scorer Eran Zahavi to stay in Israel. Sousa reportedly wants to take him to the Swiss champions Basel.